It wasn't a blueberry
by Flame of the Dark
Summary: Once a oneshot - Now a short story: 'What you've got in the weapon there... Those are... Night Howlers' Judy and Nick had managed to swap the Night Howlers with Blueberries... But Bellwether was clever enough to check the ammo of her dart gun... And well... She changed them back... Rate and Review please :)
1. Chapter 1

"Too bad... I really did like you."

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Judy asked, no hint of fear in her voice.

"Oh no no... Haha of course not... He is" Bellwether chuckled, revealing the dart gun holding the Blueberries they had swapped for the Night Holwer. She aimed it towards Nick, and with no hesitation pulled the trigger. The impact caused Nick to fall to the ground, choking and gasping for air as though he had just had it pulled out of his lungs. Nick felt his vision going blurry, and the sounds around him became muffled. Something here wasn't right, and he knew it...

"Judy... Run" he growled.

"Nick, come on please" Judy acted, unaware of what was really happening to her friend.

Nick could feel himself... Changing... Reverting back to the savage form the first animals were like. His vision was getting darker by the passing second, and all sound around him was now drowned out by his instincts.

"Hunt her down... Kill her" his subconscious told him. 'No... I won't hurt her...' He argued back with himself. The voices inside his head didn't relent, seemingly getting louder with every word they spoke, but Nick kept relenting... 'I can't... I-I won't'. Eventually the voices got too loud for him to bear, and Nick started howling and crying, begging them to stop.

"Nick... What's wrong?" he heard her ask through the voices, quiet and soft but still loud enough for him to hear.

"Judy... Run... Hide..." Nick choked out. Judy heard what he said, but she didn't care... She was still convinced this was part of his act... And damn was he good at it. Finally Nick relented, and gave in to the voices. 'Good... Now kill her!' They guided his body, against his will. He had no control over his own body, his mind, was being invaded with horrible thoughts - thoughts of him killing Judy, of him killing anyone he could. He got to his feet, growling as he turned to Jusy, who finally began to run. Nick pursured her without delay, his vision was clouded, and all colour was now tinted blood red. He kept trying to fight what ever was controlling him, but he was weak compared to it. He watched helplessly as Judy slipped on the ground, and he mustered as much strength as he could in an attempt to fight back against the demon controlling his body, successly managing to slow himself down long enough for Judy to recover.

Nick was easily overpowered once again, and his body returned to pursuing Judy, rapidly closing the distance.

Judy could hear Bellwether's laughing over the growling coming from her friend... Thinking Nick was still acting, and therefore wouldn't hurt her, she allowed her attention to switch to Judy.

"Just think of the headlines - hero cop killed by savage fox"

"So thats it, prey fears predators and you stay in power?"

"Yes - pretty much"

"It won't work" 'Come on any minute now she'd get the evidence she needed, but she was starting to get unsure of how long Nick could keep up that performace.'

"Fear always works... And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way"

'That was it' Judy managed to discreetly stop the recording, she had the information she needed, so it was just about waiting for the ZDP to arrive... She slipped onto her hands and knees, before turning to look at Nick, who appeared to be rapidly approaching her. Judy's eyes widened in fear when she looked at Nick, seeing no signs of her fox friend, and instead just the savage blood thirsty mask. She still kept to the plan, grabbing one of the stuffed fawn models and flinging it inbetween her and Nick, before rushing away through the grass and trying to hide from Nick. She watched through the gap as Nick tore the fake fawn apart, before turning to face her with a burning thirst in his eyes, a first for blood - and it was then she realised something about this was off.

"Nick... Stop this - fight it"

Judy backed herself against a wall, her breathing fast and light as she was now drained of oxygen in her lungs. She watched as Nick crept his way through the grass, but his attention shifted to Bellwether as the ZDP arrived beside her.

"Bellwether - where's Judy and the fox?" Chief Bogo asked the sheep.

"Down there" she pointed to Judy, and Nick - who still seemed to be focusing on the others.

"CHIEF - DON'T SHOOT HIM!" Judy cried out, now attracting Nick's attention. The red fox slowly began to make his way towards her, growling - before he stopped a short distance from her. The small lapin looked into Nick's eyes, seeing them full of contested emotions - hatred, bloodlust, anger, happiness, sadness, loneliness - but the one that stood out the most to her was the one that; despite the dire situation still made her heart flutter... It was the feeling of love that he felt, and she somehow knew it was love for her... She was snapped back to reality as she heard the cocking of guns above her.

"Judy, his not safe - we have to subdue him... GET OUT OF THERE!" Bogo shouted.

"No - don't shoot him... Don't trust Bellwether!" Judy replied, before wasting no time and playing the recording of Bellwether to the ZDP 'and I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way' All it took was that moment of Judy averting her attention from Nick for the fox to strike, digging his teeth deep into Judy's already wounded leg. She cried out in pain as his teeth penetrated her flesh, drawing large amounts of blood from the fresh wounds. Finally it clicked in her mind that what Nick was shot with something other than a blueberry. Despite knowing that the fox she cared for wasn't the one attacking her, she still regreted her actions towards him. With a mighty and unforseen burst of strength, Judy rammed her free paw straight into Nick's face, resulting in him releasing her leg and yelping in pain, before looking at her with a gaze of so much hatred and anger, it could break anyones soul. Bogo threw a small firearm down to the side of Judy, and she took it with no hesitation, aiming towards Nick and pulling the trigger. The dart hit him directly in the shoulder, and he quickly collapsed as he lost consciousness. The lapin, ignoring her bleeding leg crawled over to the fox, resting her paw on his head as she whispered to him.

"I'm really sorry Nick... I love you" She sighed as she felt herself grow heavy, before she fainted on top of Nick due to blood loss.


	2. Chapter 2: Nightmare

Judy found herself staring into the cage through the glass, watching with eyes full of sadness as Nick walked around. He was snarling, and his claws were extended. He turned to face Judy, and once again rushed towards her, ramming into the glass before retreating with whimpers of pain. She turned towards the door as she heard it open, and noticed the form of Chief Bogo approaching her.

The site of the ZDP chief, baring a saddened expression filled her small form with unrivaled fear, and she ran to meet him. She skidded to a stop infront of him, and looked up, her amethyst eyes full of hope, that instantly dissipated when Bogo shook his head with a saddened sigh.

"There's still no luck with finding an antidote..." Was all the cape buffalo could say, before he watched Judy begin to break down. "I'm so sorry" He added, his voice tainted with the sympathy he wanted to portray, before leaving back through the door he entered. Judy sniffled her cries away, and wiped the forming tears from her eyes as she returned to the outside of Nick's pen, looking in on him as he prowled across the space inside it, constantly trying to find a way to escape. She stood firm as she locked eyes with him, but now all his emotions were hidden behind the bloodlust.

Nick held his ground, ceasing in movement as he locked eyes with the prey outside his prison, seeing them full of emotions he never even knew existed: Sorrow, pity, sadness, hope and even... love? He snarled as he noticed her gaze fall, and took this oppurtunity to rush towards her, but he was again repelled by the unseen barrier that stood between them. He yelped as pain flooded his body again, which was soon followed by the faint scent of blood. He brushed the fur on his head, trying to locate the source of the blood, and hissed painfully when his claws brushed against the cut on his skull. He looked again towards the unseeable barrier, and noticed that a marking had now appeared on it. Good, so the barrier wasn't unbreakable..

His stomach rumbled, only furthering his need to feast on the prey that stood opposite him. He rushed again towards the barrier, ramming into it with all his might. The sudden impact caused him to leap backwards almost instantly after making contact. He stifled his yelp and hid his pain from the prey, but he watched the females reaction to him. A smile began to slowly form as he noticed this prey appeared concerned for him everytime he hurt himself, but the prey didn't appear to notice said smile. Wth this newfound knowledge he began to devise a cunning plan to capture his food. He moved closer to the back of the cell, before charging with all the speed he could muster towards the barrier, which - upon impact - deflected much of the force of the impact, causing Nick to fall backwards with a loud cry of pain. The sly fox got to his feet, before purposefully limping behind the bushes inside his pen. He watched through a gap as the lapin opened up his cell, before hesitantly making her way around to him. He slunk back into the thick brush, submerging his crimson fur from her view as she came around the corner in which he had retreated by. Once her back was turned towards him, he struck - leaping from the brush and swiping at her, to which she elegantly avoided. Nick wasted no time, swinging his paw towards her and catching her off guard.

Judy fell to the floor, and without delay began backing away from the feral fox who attacked her. She saw him closing the distance easily, and her eyes widened in fear when she felt herself be trapped beneath the walls of the cell and the feral fox.

"Nick... Please don't" she begged him, but her words had no effect.

Without delay, Nick pushed his paw against her chest, pinning her in place. With a visious snarl, he opened his mouth sunk his teeth into her throat and neck...

"Ahhhhh!" Judy awoke with a scream, alerting Clawhauser in the process.

"Judy?" Clawhauser asked her after recovering from his startled condition.

"I'm...I'm fine... J-j-just a bad dream" she calmed herself, before she looked towards Clawhauser, who seemed very on edge, and upset. "What's wrong?"

With a sigh Clawhauser began to speak, his words bearing a tone of pity and sorrow. "The doctors are still nowhere near to finding an antidote to the Night Howler serum"

Before Judy could respond, Clawhauser's mic went off, and he was called away. With a wave of goodbye, he departed from Judy's side as he went to his new assignment. She fell back against the pillow on the hospitle bed, before lifting up the sheets to look at the condition of her injured leg. She let out an annoyed grumble as she noticed it was wrapped in many bandages, and she knew she would be forced to retire from the ZDP until it had fully healed. She sighed, dropping the sheets before staring blankly at the ceiling, then averting her gaze to her phone on the side of the bed. She decided that, with nothing else to do she would check her messages. She noticed that she had three new messages, one of which was from Finnick; while the other two were just her parents asking whether she was ok - the text from Finnick appeared to be more concerned about Nick Wilde - not that she could blame him.

She responded to each of the messages, before placing her phone back on the side with a displeased sigh... She had a very strong feeling she would be stuck in this bed for a few days, before she could even walk with support. With nothing else to do, she lay back against the pillow and closed her eyes, going back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Loss?

Judy found herself yet again staring in at the savage form of Nick, but this time something was different about him... He was prowling the surface of his prison, bloodcurdling snarls filling in the silence. She noticed he seemed... different, from the previous nightmare she had endured the last time she slept. He wasn't ramming into the glass, and he wasn't making any form of eye contact with her... He seemed... Uninterested in her presence... She watched as the fox walked in circles around his pen, his claws tapping the metal ground with a light clink.

The pen seemed much darker now as well, and more spacious and open... She looked around his pen, and noticed a trail of blood that ran into a dark corner - in which nothing could be seen. She turned back to face Nick, jumping backwards out of complete fear when she noticed he was right up against the window, staring her down with a gaze that could give even Mayor Lionheart chills to the bone. As soon as she steeled herself enough to meet his gaze, he quickly retreated away into the shadows near the back of the pen. She approached the pen, and used the flashlight on her phone to light up the area where Nick was hiding. She saw him with his back turned, and he appeared hunched over something, yet as soon as he realised the light was on him, he quickly dashed into the shadows behind some of the few plants and bushes inside his cell, safe from the light of her phone. She noticed on the ground yet another spot of blood, and it trailed into the darkness where Nick had retreated to.

She could hear harsh growling and snarling coming from the corner, but soon the sounds ceased. Judy readied herself to enter his pen and investigate, but quickly thought against it as she remembered the horrible nightmare from before... How crafty he was... She wasn't going to fall for his tricks again.

The door opened, and one of the doctors working on the antidote entered, his expression bearing nothing but pure despair. "There's little hope... We can't save them... We've developed a way to combat the effects of the Night Howler, but no matter the quantity of the treatment we provide... They just seem to be...unaffected a great deal.. And... T Well, we've just finished running the scans on Nick Wilde, to see what stage the Night Howlers effects are at... It's...it's not good..." The doctor couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence as he saw the overwhelming heart break in her eyes, but she begged him to continue. "A large portion of the toxin has gotten into his bloodstream... And it's poisonous... Judy... I'm sorry, but Nick... He's slowly dying, and he doesn't even know it... Even if we managed to revert them back to normal, we can't save him... There's just... Too much of it..."

Judy couldn't bring herself to look the doctor in the eyes as she broke down into tears, unable to believe any of what she was hearing. They couldn't save him... No... No No NO NO! She wouldn't believe that to be the truth... She just...wouldn't accept it. The doctor left Judy alone to her thoughts, and the young lapin was sticking to denail. She wouldn't accept that... They made a mistake... He could be saved... He had to be saved... However the more she denied it, the more she egan to realise how heart-breakingly true it was. Without thinking, she rushed into Nick's pen, running around the corner to which Nick had retreated... She lit the area up, leaving her phone laying on the ground as a source of light. She saw him, his crimson fur was fading, and his eyes looked empty... His breathing was slow and raspy, and it sounded as though each breath was taking more energy to perform.

A trail of blood down his maw connected with that on the floor of the pen, and the fox appeared completely unresponsive, his ears not even twitching when she cried out his name. She put her ears to his chest, feeling the rise and fall with every painful breath, and listened for a beat, to which she found one, but it was weak and slow... She could feel the heat his body gave off slowly begin to decrease, as his breathing and heart beat slowed to a complete stop... His eyes were closed, and his form now unmoving, but free of pain and suffering. She chose not to accept what she had just witnessed... The fox she cared for... The fox she...she loved... Had just died before her very eyes.

"Nick...Nick please don't go" she whispered... "Nick... Please, wake up... Don't go... Please... Wake up...wake up" she pleaded his unmoving body, her eyes welling with tears... "Please... Don't leave me... Don't go... Please...please please come back... Don't...go.." Judy ceased in het efforts, knowing they were all for naught... He was gone - and nothing they could do could ever change that...

She fell asleep next to him, hoping and prayin that when she awoke, she would find herself back in the hospitle bed... That it was all another nightmare... "Don't go"

AN: I know this was a rather short chapter... But I was really stuck as to what to put in this one as I was typing this quite late... And I was very tired... Anyway... Anyone thanks to anyones who actually still reading this short... It may end there... Or there may be more to come... But *chuckles evilly* that's for me to know... And you guys to wait and find out. Hehehehahaha


	4. Chapter 4: AN - please read

Hey guys... I'm sure many of you want to know why I've failed to update any of my stories for a while now... I'm just writing this note to let you know to not expect much updates from me for a while... I've not been feeling to well lately... Anyway... Until I get better (hopefully very soon) you guys won't be seeing any updates from me... I hope you guys understand and please don't worry about me... I'm sure I'll be fine... Until I feel better... Farewell.


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